Morning Brief 4.14.20: Google Pay adds grocery store spotter in India

The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:

Spot search

Google has launched a feature for its Google Pay mobile wallet that allows users in India to find local stores that are open and selling essential goods such as groceries.

Called "Nearby Spot," it's launching in Bengaluru with Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi expected to follow shortly, reports YourStory in India. The feature includes a donate button that links to the United Way, Charities Aid and other NGOs.

Google Pay has made several moves over the past year to expand its reach in India, where digital payments have grown through the country's United Payments Interface. Cash still plays a role, and the virus has led to record ATM withdrawals in India, according to Quartz.

Glass on the mind

The underlying technology includes sapphire glass with an EMV chip to execute contactless transactions.

The feature is designed for analog watches, potentially broadening the market for wearable payments to consumer groups that have not adopted smartwatches.

Airport hack

The San Francisco International Airport suffered a pair of hacks in March that were designed to steal contractors' identity credentials.

The attackers potentially gained access to sites accessed outside the airport's network, according to SiliconAngle, adding that could include people accessing the airport from external apps or devices.

The attack was similar to an earlier incident with British Airways, which resulted in about 380,000 credit card details being exposed.

In the queue

Grocery orders have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, leading Amazon and Whole Foods to introduce virtual lines to produce shopping windows.

The feature is designed to manage online and deliver spikes, explains Engadget, adding some Whole Foods locations have changed hours to focus entirely on internet orders. Whole Foods has also increased online capacity by about 60%.

From the web

Coronavirus stimulus cash could come on prepaid cardsFOX BUSINESS | Mon April 13, 2020While noting that people would likely prefer to receive the cash through their direct deposit accounts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a ruling issued on Monday night acknowledged that not everyone would have that option. For those individuals, the agency noted that prepaid cards, where a designated amount of money is loaded on in advance, may be “faster, more secure, more convenient, and less expensive.”

Sticpay rolls out new prepaid card for e-wallet solutionVERDICT | Mon April 13, 2020UK-based fintech firm Sticpay has launched a new prepaid card to allow users to spend or withdraw funds through its e-wallet solution. Users can withdraw funds at local ATMs or spend directly using the prepaid card and is available to all global customers.

OCBC launches PayNow fund transfers via Google PayTHE STRAITS TIMES | Tue April 14, 2020OCBC Bank has brought Google Pay's peer-to-peer (P2P) funds transfer service to Singapore, making the Republic the third country where this service is available. With the new service, OCBC customers can pay directly from their bank accounts to anyone registered to PayNow using the Google Pay app.

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